How to detect an earthquake from the comfort of your home

Given how common and cheap accelerometers have become, scientists began the Quake-Catcher Network to take advantage of their ubiquity. With it, volunteers now have a place to relay data from quakes the accelerometers in their personal electronics pick up. Although these are less sensitive than proper seismometers, these accelerometers have the virtue of being commonplace. In fact, after initial development costs, the network's seismic data gathering system costs less than 1 percent of a traditional network of seismometers.